Darling I do
by Hannahllouisee
Summary: When Beckett is injured while interogating a suspect, it is up to Castle to take care of her. As he is doing so, she begins to realize that it might be time for the wall that is stopping them from loving one another to come down. fluff/smut will ensue.
1. Chapter 1

Rick castle paced back and forth in front of the viewing window of the interrogation room. Cases such as these worried him ,especially for Beckett ,because for her they usually just hit too close to home. This particular case was that of Diana Rohloff, a thirty two year old mother of one ,who was stabbed in the chest and left to die in an ally a couple of blocks from the precinct.

He hadn't wanted Beckett to be the one to interrogate the subject. For one thing the guy was the size of a sky scraper, he has muscles as big as castles head, not to mension he looked like he could take Castle out with just one swing of his bulking, tattooed arms. It didn't help of course, that as Beckett had entered the interrogation room, the small beady eyes of the suspect swept over her long, slender body.

Castle knew Beckett was the officer of record on the case, but couldn't they have made more effort to find someone who was at least a little less vulnerable when it came to this particular type? Maybe Esposito could fill in for her...

He had been telling himself that Beckett was a big girl, and that she could fight her own battles until that afternoon, when he had found her in the break room after they had told their victims seventeen year old daughter and grieving husband the news. She had been sitting at the small wooden table in the middle of the break room with a cup of steaming tea in her hand. A stray piece of curly brown hair from her bun drifted near the frame of her face as the rotating fan in the break room, which was currently the only source of noise, came to face her. As he walked towards her, her face slowly came into view; on it was a blank saddened expression, hinting to him that she was deep in thought.

He hadn't gone to her to offer support, instead he had retreated back to his regular seat next to her desk to wait for her to once again battle with her internal demons, and now, as he stood looking at Kate through the tinted glass, he couldn't remember why, and he began to regret it not going to her.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of metal scraping against the concrete floor and a loud crash. He looked up to find Kate laying on the floor of the interrogation room, her face contorted In pain and her hand clenched at her chest. Towering over her was the suspect with arms the size of freight trains, who continued to deliver blow after blow into her chest with the tip of his shoe. Castle's brain caught up with him and he ran towards the room as Esposito and Ryan made their way at top speed towards the same destination, with hands on their lower backs as they reached for their guns. She was his only concern as he entered the room at top speed. She lay in the corner of the room while Esposito and Ryan attempted to restrain the suspect.

He knelt down next to her and scooped the upper half of her frail body into his arms.

"Kate sweetheart, where does it hurt?" he said, brushing the stray tears away from her cheeks with the pad of his thumb.

She didn't answer;she just continued to whimper in his arms while he held her, rocking her like he would an infant as he whispered soft, reassuring words in to her ear.

"Castle!" his actions were interrupted as Ryan yelled at him from in front of the suspect. "Get her out of here, now!" he scooped her up into his arms and carried her swiftly to the break room, where he lay her on the couch and knelt next to her head, brushing her temple with his thumb as he resumed whispering the reassuring words into her ear as she lay there, with eyes closed tightly as she tried to wait out the pain.

This was how Ryan and Esposito had found them after bringing the perp down to holding. Esposito walked quietly towards Castle and laid a hand on his shoulder. "Is there anything we can do?" he asked quietly so as not to disturb Beckett, who at this point had tears streaming down her face.

"Get Lanie" Castle said quickly "if she's seriously hurt she'll know what to do"

Esposito nodded and left quietly, with Ryan trailing behind him.

* * *

><p>Lainie arrived some ten minutes later carrying with her a first aid kit she had grabbed as she had rushed out of the morgue.<p>

"Hey sweetie" she said softly to Beckett as she took Castle's place next to her head. She looked at her for a second and made a quick decision.

"I'm going to have to unbutton her shirt" she said matter of factly "you three should probably leave" she said acknowledging the boys for the first time.

However, as Castle stood to leave Beckett's eyes shot open and her hand reached out for his wrist at record speed, causing the pain in her chest to intensify.

"Don't leave me" she said quietly, through labored breathes

"Never" he said, smiling to himself and sitting on the couch as he put her head in his lap.

Leonie looked at her two colleagues suspiciously before getting to work.

Lainie's Hands were cold against Kate's skin and she slowly opened her eyes. He half expected Castle, whose lap her head was currently resting on, to have his eyes trained to her exposed chest. As she opened her eyes, however, she they came into contact with his cool blue ones, which were looking into hers with a mixture of worry, tenderness, and love as he played gently with her hair.

"Hey" he said, showing obvious relief at the fact that she had finally opened her eyes permanently.

"Hi" she said quietly

Lainie let out a small "…oh!" forcing them to tear their eyes away from each other.

Castles eyes made their way to where Lainies fingers gently traced the scar on her chest that she had acquired after being shot in the cemetery. The long, dark, already swollen scar was surrounded by what was slowing becoming a massive cloud of deep purple and blue on her skin, that caused Kate to wince whenever Lainie's fingers ghosted over it. Castle mentally kicked himself for being stupid enough to waste time asking her what was hurting while she was lying on the ground of the interrogation room. His mind flashed back to when she had accidently reached too quickly for a cup of coffee he had handed her at a crime scene a couple weeks back, and he remembered how even that had caused the scar tissue to pull, and Kate to wince. He couldn't imagine how much pain she was in after being thrown across a room like a ragdoll, followed by being kicked in the exact location of the scar on her body.

"That suspect had impeccable aim" he said, tracing the pink swollen line in her flesh gently with his finger.

Lainie looked up at him with something that was somewhat a glare "It looks like everything's going to be fine" she started slowly "however, pretty much doing anything other than sitting or laying down, is going to hurt like hell" she said frankly "I would suggest that you stay with someone for a few days, because trust me, doing most things on your own is not going to be easy with a bruise like this, especially with its location. also," she said, turning towards Castle, "you need to watch her very carefully, if she shows signs of having trouble breathing, you see an exponential increase in the amount of swelling we are seeing now, or if her pain starts to worsen at all, you need to take her to a hospital immediately, because she could be having a blood clot" Castle nodded, slowly standing and scooping Kate up into his arms "Thanks a lot Lainie" he said, giving her a wink.

"Sure thing" she said "now take my girl home and make sure she gets some sleep"

"You know I will" he said, slinging Kate's purse over his shoulder as he carried her limp body towards the elevator, and out of the precinct.

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><p><strong>Okay, i there wasn't that much romance in this chapter, but it was basically just to set up the rest of the story that is coming soon<strong>

**also, this was my first chapter of my first fanfiction, and I haven't been writing stories much lately, so i might be a bit rusty...**

**anways, I'm still deciding whether or not to continue writing this or just ending it here, but once again it will get more romantic, i promise, this chapter was mostly just to lay the foundation of the story.**

**reviews as always, are appreciated.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys!**

**Thank you so much for all of the lovely reviews, you guys are awesome.**

**I'm really sorry about how long it took me to post this chapter, i was out of town for the week and I didn't have any internet. I'm almost finished with chapter three, but I just really don't know how good it is, i started writing it, and in my opinion it just sounds really forced. If you guys have any ideas for as to what you might want to see in some point in this story let me know! writers block sucks.**

**also, I'm sorry about spelling Lanies wrong a couple of times in the last chapter, thanks for letting me know!**

**and I'm excited for cuffed.**

**seriously.**

**okay that's all.**

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><p>Richard Castle stepped out into the cold December air with Beckett in his arms, who snuggled closer into his chest as the snow flurries began to fall faster.<p>

After somehow managing to hail a cab- a task that became near impossible due to his lack of free hands- he placed Kate's limp, tired body into the back of the car, followed by his own as he slowly scooted in next to her in a last attempt to escape chilling, outside air. He then put his arm around her small frame as he brought her to lean back into his chest. She let out a soft whimper at the swift change in position and he continued to whisper the reassuring words into her ear as he ran his fingers through her long brown hair.

As they pulled up to Ricks building, be loosened his grip around her shoulders and began to open the door. She shuddered at the momentary loss of contact before he once again, scooped her up into his arms as he handed the man driving the taxi the cab fair, and brought her safely into the lobby of the building.

Once inside his loft, he set her purse down on the coffee table and set about doing everything he could to make the woman in his arms comfortable. He carried her up the stairs and past Alexis' room until he reached a door at the end if the hallway. He set her gently down on the guest bed and set off to find her a more comfortable set of clothes.

* * *

><p>He returned with a pair of his boxers, an old tank top of Alexis', and two pain pills that were a left over prescription from a couple months ago that he had found in the back of his medicine cabinet, to find her asleep in on top of the comforter. He sat down on the bed next to her and tucked a loose piece of hair behind her ear.<p>

"Beckett" he said quietly.

She didn't stir.

"Kate" he said again, this time a bit louder.

She still didn't open her eyes, and something he recognized at panic began to set

over him.

What if he couldn't wake her up?

Would he have to change her clothes himself?

She might be out of it now, but when she woke up there was no telling how recuperated she would be, and once she put the pieces together as to why she was wearing something different than what she had put on that morning, it would be him she would come after.

In a last attempt to escape the wrath of a soon to be drugged, half asleep Kate Beckett, he made a last attempt to wake her.

"Kate honey, please wake up" he pleaded as he touched her cheek gently.

Her eyes slowly opened and took a moment to take in her surroundings before meeting his eyes in confusion.

"Here put these on" he said as he handed her the boxer shorts ad tank top and stood to make his exit and give her some space to change.

"Wait" she said in a voice that was barely audible "don't leave me"

His heart broke as he watched her small frame Begin to tremble.

He closed the distance between them in a few long strides and stood above her, cupping her cheek in his hand.

"I wouldn't dare" he said as a playful smile spread across his lips " I was just going to get you some water so that you could take these" he said, opening his hand to reveal the two white pain pills.

* * *

><p>He returned again five minutes later to find her under the comforter, with a blank expression on her face and tears streaming down her cheeks. He kicked himself for the second time that day for doing something irrationally stupid. Lanie had specifically told them that doing practically anything but laying or sitting down was going to be close to impossible to do without experiencing high levels of excruciating pain. He quickly walked over to her and took his place on the bed beside her. He then gently helped her to sit up as he handed her the glass of water and the pills.<p>

"These are going to help with the pain, I promise" he said as her lay her head back down onto the pillows

"They do have a tendency to make you feel a bit nauseous and drowsy though, so just try and get some rest".

He looked down at her as she closed her eyes. Even when she was tired and broken, she was beautiful. He refrained from reaching out to touch her sleeping figure as he watched her breathe, as if he was trying to reassure himself that she was going to be okay.

"I can't sleep with you watching me like that" she snapped as a small smile ghosted over her lips, her eyes still closed.

_That's my girl _he thought to himself as he walked back to the corner of the room and settled into an arm chair with his computer. There was no way in hell he was leaving her alone, not again.

* * *

><p>Some hours later, Castle sat in the room that was now dark, looking up every so often from his computer to check on Kate, Who so far, had been sleeping soundly for the past three hours. She had even slept through Alexis coming home from school, and sitting on his lap as she quietly talked with him about her day, and about how Kate was feeling.<p>

"Rick" a small, fragile voice said from across the room, drawing him away from his thoughts.

He looked up to find Kate lying in the guest bed, looking at him from across the room with barely open eyes. He quickly set aside his laptop and walked over to kneel next to her head as he realized she was trembling again.

"Kate," he said as he climbed onto the bed next to her and held her in his arms in an effort to stop her from shaking "how long have you been awake?"

"Just a couple minutes" she said quietly as she slowly melted into his embrace.

There was a short pause where she continued to tremble in his arms and he began to draw idle circles on her back with his index finger.

It wasn't until she felt him hold her tighter that she let the first sob rack her fragile, aching body.

"Oh Kate sweetheart" she heard him say as he brought her closer to him, and cradled her head in between his left shoulder and his neck.

She let the tears stream from her eyes freely, soaking Castles shirt as he rocked her in his arms slowly. She hated that her shooting had made her soft, that it had caused her to become as fragile as it did. If she hadn't been shot in the first place, she could have gotten back up after being thrown to the ground and take the suspect down herself, instead of lying on the ground, trying to silently talk herself through the pain that had been bursting through her torso. It frustrated her that there was nothing that she could do, and with each body shaking sob, the pain that was there earlier that day only seemed to increase, causing the tears to fall faster, and the sobs that coursed through her body to become more violent.

Rick's heart broke as he felt the woman he loved slowly and painfully come apart in his arms. The strong, self-aware Kate Beckett was sitting in his arms as broken as ever and there was nothing he could do but sit with her in his lap and rock her gently back and forth until the sobs subsided

When her sobs had calmed down to nothing but a small whimper, he lay her back onto the pillows, still holding her in his arms. He pressed a feather light kiss to her hair and she nuzzled her face into his neck.

The last thing she heard as she drifted off to sleep was "I've got you Kate, always" and she couldn't remember a time when she had felt any safer in a man's arms.

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><p><strong>I wasnt sure if this chapter was too sappy, let me know!<strong>

**reviews, as always, are appreciated. **


	3. Chapter 3

Kate awoke the next morning to find Castle laying next her, his head propped up on one elbow and his eyes looking down at her with concern.

"How long have you been watching me sleep?" she asked, rubbing the sleep from her eyes and looking into his.

"A while, actually" he said lightly "I can't help that you sleep later than I do, I get bored"

"Then why didn't you wake me up?" she retorted, a small playful smile spreading over her lips.

"You need your rest" he said, brushing her disheveled hair out of her eyes "I'm here to take care of you, not deprive you of sleep"

She looked at him incredulously "I can take care of myself castle, I'll be alright, I promise"

"Even when you're in this much pain?"

"Even when I'm in pain" she said matter-of-factly.

"The last twenty-four hours tell me otherwise"

"Well I'm fine now." she snapped back at him "I can handle it myself, I'm a big girl Castle"

"I know you are," he said throwing his arms halfway up in what seemed like surrender "but just stay here for a while longer" he continued, his voice dripping with

Concern "I would hate to let you go home, and then have something happen to you"

Seeing there was no way she could win an argument with a concerned Richard Castle she surrendered. "Fine" she said, crossing her arms "but you can't fuss over me"

"Fine." he said, crossing his arms too, mocking her childlike gesture.

She then made an effort to sit up herself, as he moved to her side of the bed to give her assistance if she needed it, while still giving her space.

"I'm fine Castle, really." she said, wincing as she sat up slowly.

"Kate-" he said slowly motioning toward her quickly, but he was cut off as she put her hand up in an effort to silence him, her face contorted in concentration.

"I'm serious Castle, I can do this"

His heart broke as he watched her slowly stand up, and make her way towards the bedroom door. "How does breakfast sound?" he said, opening the door as she made

Her way through its frame.

"Great" she said wincing again, something that was not lost on Castle.

He followed her down the long hallway, his heart breaking for the third time in the last twenty-four hours as she made her way painstakingly slow down the stairs and into the kitchen.

"Eggs sound okay?" he asked as he opened the fridge, blasting them both with cool air.

"Yeah, I'll help" she said making her way over to where he was to stand next to him by the counter.

He paused but didn't say anything; he knew that she couldn't last for long, not when she was in this much pain anyways. She would ask for help when she needed it.

They made idle conversation as they made breakfast. She asked how Alexis was, and they talked about their latest case. It was until he heard heavy breathing coming from the side of the kitchen that she had been occupying that he has begun to thank his lucky stars that she was finally feeling better.

He looked over at her in panic to find her leaning over the counter with her head in her hands, doing what sounded like hyperventilating. He closed the space between

them in a few long strides and turned her around, hugging her to his chest. She turned to face him and her breaths continued to come out labored.

Pain coursed through her body, she saw stars, she couldn't breathe and it felt as though some one was sitting on her chest.

He did everything he could think of to help ease the pain. He ran his hand through her hair, kissed the top of her head and moved back and forth with her in his arms as they stood there in his kitchen together while she breathed through the pain.

When her breathing finally calmed, he continued to hold her until she looked up at him.

"You can't overwork yourself like that Kate" he said, resting his chin on the top of her head "you should have asked for my help"

"I know" she said quietly, letting out a frustrated sigh.

"Does this mean I get to start helping you again?" he asked, smiling down at her.

She let out something that was between a sob and a laugh as she nodded into his chest.

* * *

><p>Beckett ran her hands through her twisted back hair and leaned back in her office chair. It was her first day back to the precinct and her day had only gotten progressively<p>

Worse. There were no new leads on the case of Diana Rohloff, there hadn't even been any tips on the days that she had been gone. She leaned on one elbow on her desk and turned her head towards the murder board for the fifth time that day, absentmindedlysucking on the knuckle of the finger that she had burned making her own cup of coffee that morning.

She looked down at her phone that was sitting on her desk.

Still nothing.

He hadn't come in this morning, hence the burn on her finger that had resulted from having to prepare her own coffee.

She slammed her hands down on her desk in frustration, earning her a few confused looks from the remaining officers in the precinct.

She had just stood up to bring her coffee cup back to the break room and clear her desk when she heard the elevator doors open. She walked into the break room to wash out the mug as she heard him wish the other officers a good evening and eventually open the break room door.

She watched him through the corner of her eye and tried to hide a smile as he leaned against the counter beside the sink.

"Good evening detective" he said, leaning against the old granite counter top as he gave her one of his winning smiles.

"It's about time you showed up" she said, turning off the water and drying her hands.

"I had to catch up on my writing" he said, opening the refrigerator door and peering inside "but it's always nice to know that I was missed" he winked at her as he popped a grape into his mouth.

"Yeah, well careful Castle, we wouldn't want your ego to get too big" she said as she sauntered past him and back out into the bullpen to gather her things and turn off her computer.

"Do you have any plans for tonight?" he asked nervously, trailing behind her.

"jeez Castle" she said turning to look at him "If I didn't know any better I would think that you were trying to get be back into that loft pretty quickly" She walked closer over to him, until their faces were mere inches apart. "What's the matter?" she asked "getting lonely without me?" she breathed.

She watched as his eyes darted to her mouth, then back to her eyes again.

He skipped a couple beats before making eye contact and answering her question "of course it is detective" he said smiling

"Also Alexis doesn't have any homework tonight, so she and my mother were making dinner…"

Another beat.

"…and I was wondering if maybe you would like to join us…" he finished.

She had to holdback laughter. _Was he actually rambling?_ The thought that she had the power to render _The _Richard Castle nearly speechless made her blush, and when she thought about it, her apartment didn't particularly seem too inviting, not after a day like this anyways.

She watched him squirm for a couple more seconds before linking her arm with his "lead the way Mr. Castle" she said as he guided her to the elevator and out of the precinct.

* * *

><p>As Kate entered the loft she was struck with the strong aroma of chicken parmesan. She smiled at the thought of a home cooked meal, something that until now, she hadn't had the time for.<p>

"Smells good" she said walking into the kitchen as Castle handed her a glass of red wine.

"Good!" said Martha as she came around the kitchen island, drying her hands on her cooking apron to give Kate a hug "I hope you brought your appetite".

Alexis, who was cutting vegetables to put into a salad turned around and smiled at Kate "Detective Beckett!" she greeted warmly "I'm glad you could join us!" she said, giving Kate a warm smile that greatly resembled her dads.

"So am I" Kate said as she leaned against the counter next to Castle "Thank you for having me"

She smile to herself as she realized just how much she enjoyed these kind of evenings, and at how even the simplest things could become so wonderful, just by doing them with the right people.

She was drawn out of her thoughts when the man standing next to her put his hand on the small of her back to lead her to the dinner table "hungry?" he asked as he pulled out a chair from under the table for her.

"Starving" she said as she took her seat next to his.

* * *

><p>Kate sat in Castles arms drinking wine as he drew lazy circles on her shoulder. Alexis and Martha had left about thirty minutes after they had finished clearing the table, claiming that there was a movie the both of them had wanted to see, and after leaving in what seemed like somewhat of a hurry, Kate and Rick were left alone.<p>

After finishing with the dishes, the both of them had migrated over to the couch to watch a movie, and much to her surprise, Kate found that she was growing more reluctant to leave as Castle kissed the top of her head, or made side comments about the movie that never failed to make her laugh into his chest.

The more reluctant to leave to she grew, the more she wondered when the realization that she was sitting in Rick Castle's arms would finally hit her, and she would start pushing him away.

"Rick" she said quietly as she brought her hand up to his cheek.

He didn't respond verbally, he just looked into her eyes and let out a small, relaxed "hmm?"

When she knew she had his attention, she asked him the question that had been bothering her since she had arrived at his loft.

"What are we doing?"

He looked at her, a mix of pain and confusion evident on his face. He didn't know what to say, he wanted to tell her everything, tell her that he was head over heels in love, and that there was nowhere else he would rather be than sitting there, on his couch with her in his arms.

He didn't want to scare her away, though. So instead he just settled with "relaxing, were just relaxing"

She looked away, avoiding eye contact as she stood from the couch and let out a small, barely audible "okay" heading towards the door.

"Kate, wait" he said as he grabbed her wrist in an effort to pull her back to him.

"What, Castle?" she snapped, turning to look at him she paused, skipping a couple beats.

"I-I don't know what you want me to do" she said, finally trying making eye contact.

He looked up at her from his place on the couch "I want you to sit back down over here so that we can talk about this" he said, frustration evident in his voice.

Kate stood looking down at him, as though trying to decide between staying there with him and making a beeline for the door. Eventually she moved closer to the edge of the couch where he was, but still didn't sit down.

_ God she was stubborn._

"Kate," he said standing, causing her to back up a couple of steps "I don't know _what _we're doing, I don't know what this is, but I can tell you that you're all that I want, and that sitting here with you only made me realize that further."

She looked up at him in confusion, and he moved closer to her to her to tuck a piece of stray hair behind her ear.

"I love you Kate, so much"

The eyes that had been struggling to find a place to look that was anywhere that wasn't near him finally made contact with his, and the stretch of silence that filled the loft only grew longer as he waited for the panic that he thought would inevitably fill her eyes.

It never did.

Instead she closed the distance in between them in one great stride, cupping his cheek in her hand and pressing her mouth to his in a searing kiss.

The kiss grew heated, and he brought his hand to twist into her long brown curls, effectively pressing her head closer to his. They separated only when the need for air became a necessity, and they stood there panting, foreheads pressed together and eyes darkened with lust.

He brought their lips together for a second time, this time more heated than the last as he scooped her up into his arms and made his way blindly towards the bedroom.

They stumbled into dark room in each other's arms, breaking contact only to swing the door shut. Kate felt the edge of the bed hit the back of her thighs and he set her gently down on the top of his comforter. She scooted herself up to the pillows at the head of the bed using the arm that wasn't wrapped around his neck and he trailed behind her, mouth glued to hers.

The pads of his fingers spanned her now hypersensitive skin as he pulled on the hem of her shirt, and her fingers shook as she slowly unbuttoned his dress shirt.

Even as she lay there, with him moving above her and slowly working her shirt over her head, she was still in total shock. She had known for some time that this was inevitable, but this wasn't how she had imagined it would be for their first time. Instead of the frantic, quick, and desperate hands she had imagined, there were soft, caressing loving ones that seemed intent on memorizing every inch of her body, and instead of hard, fast, teeth crashing kisses, there were gentle, mind-numbing, tender touches of lips as he slowly worked his mouth over hers.

She smiled triumphantly into the kiss as she finished unbuttoning his deep blue dress shirt and began to slide it over her shoulders, and he nudged his nose with hers, causing their lips to ghost over each other's as he pulled her jeans down her long, slender legs.

He broke the kiss and paused for a beat, taking a moment to watch her breathe below him, completely exposed. She felt a red hot blush creep up her neck and over her cheeks as he watched her. This wasn't the first time a man had stopped in the middle of sex to look down at her; she had been told she was fun to watch. However that wasn't what Rick's eyes conveyed at all. He looked down at her, with his eyes full of love and admiration.

"You're so beautiful Kate" he said breathlessly

She bit her bottom lip self-consciously and looped her arm back around his neck, using it as leverage to pull his head back down to hers as she slowly used her toes to drag his jeans down his legs.

He decided not to waste any time with foreplay, and quickly positioned himself above her.

There was a moment between them both, where the kisses came to a halt, and they looked into each other's eyes with raw emotion and he brought her hand up so that it was lying on the cool sheets next to the side of her head.

He rested his forehead on hers, as he pushed into her and bumped his nose against hers, making their lips ghost over each other once again. _God she loved it when he did that._

They made eye contact as he slowly moved above her, and he cupped the back of her head with his free hand and pulled it into the crook of his neck. It was then as she lay there with the man she loved caressing her in a way that made her feel more cherished than she had even felt before, that she realized that this wasn't just sex, this wasn't something that she was going to have fun with that night and forget about in a week. This was making love, something that until that point, she thought she had already experienced.

He held her tightly in his arms as her inner walls slammed around him, something that in itself was enough to make him come undone only seconds after her.

They brought each other slowly down from their highs as he buried his head in the crook of her neck and whispered soft words of adoration into her ear, and she raked her hands slowly through his hair.

He brought his head up to make eye contact with her and she felt tears beginning to prick in her eyes.

_No way. _ She thought to herself,_ there is no way in hell I'm doing something as cheesy as crying after sex._

He smiled down at her and kissed away the tears that ran down her flushed cheeks and slowly rolled off her and pulled her close against his bare chest.

"I love you Kate" he whispered softly into her ear

"I love you too, Rick" she said quietly, and as she lay there in his arms, with the aftershocks of pleasure still coursing through her body, she couldn't help but compare it to the last time he had held her like this. When instead of soft sheets there had been the cold hard floor of the interrogation room, and instead of waves of pleasure there had been mind-numbing pain.


End file.
